


Weaponized Fun

by cassowarykisses



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Polyamory, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 06:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1418828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassowarykisses/pseuds/cassowarykisses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Atomizer convinces Perceptor to help him branch out into other forms of weaponry. Brainstorm refuses to be left out, and brings his own special touch to the project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weaponized Fun

**Author's Note:**

> Written for gunthatshootsennui on tumblr, for the prompt "Atomizer/Brainstorm/Perceptor - badminton".

"You’re sure this will help improve your aim," Perceptor said dubiously, holding out the box to Atomizer.

Atomizer grabbed it eagerly, and moved to start clearing off the table next to them. “Of course it will! Ever since Ultra Magnus confiscated my fourth backup crossbow, I’ve been thinking of branching out, and I picked up these neat little explosives back on Hedonia, and I was thinking, hey, what if I programmed them to have a delayed explosion so that I could hit them over to the target -“

"I thought you were one of the crew instructed to remain behind on guard duty?" Perceptor said. 

"Well, okay, Brainstorm had a hand in getting me them, but that doesn’t change what I want to do," Atomizer said, dumping a stack of outdated-looking datapads on one of the desks against the wall. He paused. "Also I swear I didn’t cut on guard duty, I probably should have mentioned that earlier."

"I’m sure," Perceptor replied, trying to disguise a wince at Atomizer’s treatment of the datapads. Admittedly, they were only miscellaneous references, nothing truly vital to his research, but he still took scrupulous care of them. "I hope you’re not planning to test them out in here, because I’ll be forced to call Magnus if you do."

“ _Really?_ " Atomizer began. "You’re the one who made me all this -"

"You don’t have to worry,  _Perceptor_ ,” Brainstorm said, sidling into the room with a large box. “And if this little hobby concerned you so much, why did you agree to take this on? Surely it cut into your pressing work schedule?”

"Not particularly," Perceptor said. "I do have free time, you know, and I know Atomizer from back when I designed weapons before."

"Yeah, he built me my first really good longbow, none of that worthless half-ceremonial Triorian Guard stuff I was making do with before," Atomizer said, putting his hand on Perceptor’s shoulder. "Those bows had style and not much else. But they did have a  _lot_  of style.”

"Well, anyway, I have some practice projectiles for you to work with," Brainstorm said, and upended the box in the space Atomizer had cleaned. One of the small, oddly shaped pieces bounced off and landed near Perceptor’s pede, and he bent to pick it up. Noticing his motion, Brainstorm continued, "I can’t take full credit for the design, unfortunately, but I supplied the materials and -" 

Perceptor stopped listening, and quickly tossed the projectile back with the rest.

"Wait, you made all of those yourself?" Atomizer asked, gesturing at the fairly large pile. "I mean, you were talking about how work was slow now that you don’t have the same allotments as on Kimia, but, uh. Wow."

"Don’t be ridiculous!" Brainstorm snapped. "I have plenty of drafting to do, even if I can’t get a hold of every compound I need." He folded his arms. "I actually drafted Tailgate to do most of them, since he still doesn’t have any real onboard duties, and I think Swerve and Rewind joined in. Yeah, the shape was Rewind’s idea. Something about a ‘tribute to Earth’." He punctuated this statement with a roll of his optics, and privately Perceptor had to agree. Earth wasn’t anything he particularly wanted to give a tribute to. The whole experience had been something he’d rather not repeat. Although, he had to wonder where Rewind had gotten the idea. It wasn’t like he had shown up on Earth at all.

His thoughts were interrupted by Atomizer, who grabbed one of the projectiles between his fingers. “Cute looking,” he commented. “But they’re pretty basic looking, to say the least.”

"If you want to go convince Tailgate to repaint them, be my guest." Brainstorm said. "Between Rewind and the rest of them, I bet they’ll have convinced him to actually ask for payment now." 

"I’ll pass," Atomizer said. "I’m only going to use them for practice anyway, and once I get decent at this I’ll move on to something shaped a little more like the actual explosives."

"Good!" Brainstorm said, optics glowing. "It wouldn’t do for me to go to all this effort and have you not like your practice ones, would it?"

Atomizer laughed quietly. “It really wouldn’t.”

Perceptor watched them, feeling removed from their conversation, almost as if he was watching it happen through a thin veil of medical gauze. He exvented slightly; he should probably return back to his station, now that he knew that his favor to Atomizer was satisfactory. 

"Hey, Perceptor!" Atomizer’s voice startled him out of his brief melancholy. 

Perceptor looked over at him. “Hmm? Is there a problem?”

"No, no," Atomizer said. "Well, not really - I was just wondering if you’d seen this played back during your time on Earth."

Perceptor shook his head. “No, I can’t say I did. We had … other things on our minds at the time.”

"Well, damn," Atomizer said, looking at the small modified forcefield racket Perceptor had cobbled together for him. Suddenly, he brightened. "But that doesn’t mean you can’t  _play_. You were actually a soldier for the last part of the war, so you’ve got to have better hand-optic coordination than Brainstorm, not that that’s particularly hard.”

"Hey!" Brainstorm protested. "I have perfectly good coordination, you just have truly ridiculous reflexes. What did you do to hone those as a newbuild, catch falling vases?"

"Actually, I would straighten out details last-minute before my clients showed up," Atomizer said, then sat down with a sigh. "Probably got me some bad habits on the procrastination front, but that’s not so bad."

"It’s not like you can procrastinate an assassination," Perceptor pointed out.

"True," Atomizer said, tossing a glance over his shoulder at the microscope.

"Well, then," Perceptor said, walking over to the table. "Are you ready to start?"

"Wait, you’re actually going to play this with me?" Atomizer said, head snapping up to meet Perceptor’s gaze.

Perceptor gave him a slight smile. “Of course,” he said. “Even I need some down time, and I always want to practice my aim.”

"Oh wow," Atomizer said. "I can show you one of my longbows sometime? One of the ones you didn’t build, I mean."

"That would be a pleasure," Perceptor replied. He considered for a moment, and then added, "I might even put in a word with Ultra Magnus to see if you could get one of your crossbows back, if just during combat situations."

“ _Really_?” Atomizer said. “I didn’t think you approved of that kind of collateral damage.”

"In battle situations," Perceptor said. "I’ve learned to appreciate a certain totality."

"I’ve definitely got totality in spades," Atomizer said with a laugh.

“ _I’ve_  got totality,” Brainstorm interrupted. “Your inventions are small fry next to mine.”

"Is that so?" Perceptor asked. "Maybe you should take the next round of this game against me? Test your reflexes and the efficiency of my inventions."

Brainstorm scowled. “My reflexes,” he began, “Are far better than yours - you need more speed to stop a chemical reaction than to blow off someone head.” 

Perceptor refrained from mentioning his past record with chemistry, and smiled a little wider this time. “Then I’m sure you’ll do fine after watching us,” he said, and moved to clear a half-gutted monitor from the table where the projectiles lay.  

"What, could he do less?" Atomizer said, tossing a few rogue datapads to rest haphazardly on top of the stack of their brethren. 

"I’ll excel," Brainstorm added, and leaned back against the wall near where he stood. "I won’t just be mediocre."

"Oh, I’m expecting skill," Perceptor retorted. 

"You won’t be disappointed, then," Brainstorm said, with an experimental flick of his shoulder cannons.

"I’m sure we’ll usher in a new era of weaponry," Atomizer added somewhat wearily, but with good humor. 

"We’d do that either way, I think," Perceptor said, glancing at Brainstorm.

"Exactly." Brainstorm said, not budging. "It’s just this way, it’s a slightly more exotic death."

Atomizer laughed, and threw one of the projectiles at his head. Brainstorm grabbed it and threw it back in retalition.

Ten minutes later, the two rackets lay forgotten as a full-scale badminton duel raged on inside of Perceptor’s lab.


End file.
